What is the NHS doing?

As councillor for Knowle ward I am deeply concerned about the loss of St Peter's Hospice and also concerned about what sort of applications we might get for the re-use of the site. It seems unlikely that we will get such good neighbours again.

I recognise the difficulties with the old building in terms of maintenance and modernisation and that is why council officers were asked to make positive approaches to the trustees to provide assistance for a new facility at Hengrove.

At the request of south Bristol Lib Dem councillors council leader, Barbara Janke, has followed this up with a request for a meeting with the cabinet, local councillors and trustees.

So far the responses have not been what we would want and our concern is that the NHS policy of reducing places and offering care in the community has spread to Bristol's much-loved hospice.

St Peter's quite rightly receives health service financial backing and therefore it is imperative that they give a clear message that the south Bristol residential facility must be replaced.

As a city council we can encourage and assist and have already done so, but it is the health service that has the real leverage.

It is about time Dawn Primarolo, as health minister, stopped mouthing vague support and takes action to support south Bristol.

Gary Hopkins,

Liberal Democrats, Knowle.

ALL the letters in Saturday's Evening Post were excellent and stated clearly the need for the Knowle Hospice.

Our group formed due to having lost a very close friend from breast cancer last November, her last days were spent at the Knowle Hospice, receiving excellent care from the wonderful nursing staff, so we are very aware of the service that is available for people dying from cancer.

As Angela Humphries mentioned in her letter; we all visited regularly night and day for short periods which was comforting for us all. Our group, encouraged by the well-supported public meeting at the end of July, met the chief executive and vice-chair of St Peter's Hospice and it became evident that the charity, while publishing the £300,000 repairs requirement as the reason for closure, in practice they are taking a 'business decision' in closing the Knowle Hospice. St Peter's is also seeking to redefine what is meant by a hospice.

Even if the funds were available they may not keep the Knowle Hospice. We specifically asked about the "Planned Maintenance" plans for the Knowle building as a duty of trustees to manage the buildings in their care, why it had been left to fall in to such disrepair, they did not answer.

The charity's main income streams have not dropped over the past two years; indeed they made a £1-million surplus for 2007/8, plus a small surplus in the most recent financial year. However they have experienced £1.1m of investment losses, the details are not fully detailed in their recently published annual report.

They also mention increased annual running costs; this is partly due to planned increases in staffing and increased management salaries.

My experience is that people who work in the voluntary/charity sector usually work in the sector to provide services to society and are not expecting financial reward to be the main motive.

I appreciate this is an excellent charity that has provided high quality care, with dedicated staff and volunteers providing services to the people of Bristol for 30 years.

We are aware that correspondence on this issue is being ignored. Please support us in trying to stop the closure.

We continue to collect signatures on our petition and electronically via www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-our-hospice

.

Paula Davis,

Save Our Hospice Group,

I AM writing in response to the many letters regarding the closure of St Peter's Hospice in Knowle.

My husband had recently started to attend the day centre. Due to his physical condition, this was the only time he left the house and he really looked forward to it.

He made new friends and got only the best of care from the nurses. I, like many others, would like to know why the people of Bristol weren't told of the closure until it was too late.

Dorothy Carter,

By email.